2 minute read
Leading the direction for criminal justice majors
Professor Kathy Oborn creates an easy transfer program
Coburn Palmer / Roundup
It’s Wednesday evening at Pierce College and a crowd shuffles in.
Students coming to take Kathy Oborn’s Introduction to Administration of Justice class fill the auditorium-style classroom as a bubbly teacher walks in.
Kathy Oborn, the chair of the Political science/Economics/Criminal justice/Latino studies department, is a legend at Pierce College.
She has created a system for her students to follow in order to transfer effortlessly to a California State University and earn an AA degree from Pierce.
Oborn caters to all of her students and her Wednesday night class was no exception.
“It’s easier if you roll each others fingers, that way you get a clean print,” she instructed to her class. “It’s just like in the movies.”
Oborn, a parent of seven, first came to Pierce as a student in 1972.
In 1996 she returned to Pierce as a Dean of Student Services.
After the Dean Reduction Program in 2002, eliminating positions at all of the junior colleges in the district, she became a criminal justice instructor.
“She teaches a lot about your rights,” said freshmen Supo Ojeikere. “Stuff that people don’t really think about.”
She was instrumental in bringing in a judge, a deputy district attorney and a retired police lieutenant to teach criminal justice classes.
“We’re not a police program,” she said. “We focus on the justice system as a whole. We’re an academic track.”
Oborn has no budget for supplies and chooses to bring many of her materials from her home including FBI fingerprint cards, print pads, and magnifying glasses.
Her friendly manner makes her approachable and it is because of that, many students have been enticed into the criminal justice program after taking one of her courses.
“I took her Administration of Justice class and I wanted to learn more,” said Maty Leimert, a criminal justice major.
After 38 years of being a part of the Pierce community, Oborn still works hard so her students have the best time.
“My motto is there's no reason why you can't enjoy going to school," Oborn said.
